Monday, April 21, 2014

The 2013 Boston Marathon was one people won't soon forget. Jen and I met up last year to watch her friend Jason from St. Louis run, and for me to help navigate Jen, her bf Jonathan, Jason's mom and sister through Boston to watch him run. The day was bright and clear and a good temperature - which is now sadly not uncommon for a tragic event. We watched him run by on Hereford St., met him at the family area, and got him some soup post run. We were trying to get to the T on Arlington but the Marathon barriers made it impossible since it was near the finish line. We re-routed to the Back Bay Station and were about halfway there when we heard the explosions. It sounded like the cannons they shoot on the 4th of July during the 1812 Overture, but at 4 hours into the marathon with all the elite runners done - that didn't make any sense. I felt uneasy and went to Twitter to see what was up. The first thing I saw was from a local sports station DJ - Rich Shertenlieb, who lived on Boylston and tweeted that the windows of his apt had blown out. I was with out of town-ers, one who just ran 26.2 miles ! How was I going to break this to everyone?? I told Jen and Jonathan it was not a cannon, or a celebratory noise and texted my family. We walked a little further to the T stop, and saw a cop. His radio went of and everyone heard 'bomb'. I asked him if we should stay off the T and he let us know it would be closed soon. We hurried away to Newbury St. to find somewhere to gather our thoughts. No T, no bus, cabs no where to be found, and cop cars screaming through town - we decided our best bet was to walk back to where they were staying in Charlestown. I felt so bad that Jason had to walk after running so far! We made it to Charlestown, and watched events unfold. Jen drove me back to Somerville and I sat glued to the TV for a bit.

It was so strange to be so close to it all and have people checking in on me. I felt uneasy all day. In the days after, the crazy man hunt in Watertown and the general unease of people started to wear on me. I had woken up that morning to missed calls and frantic texts from Scott telling me not to go to work. I was so happy to escape town the day of the manhunt to CT for a Jim Breuer comedy show.

After all of it, I don't feel unsafe in Boston. It didn't make me want to shy away from the marathon, but actually made me want to go back to be a part of the next year when the city showed its love for its favorite event.

Jen came back this year to cheer on her cousin Katie. We had breakfast at Zaftig's with Scott, and took the T from Coolidge Corner to Kenmore. There was security at the T entrance checking bags, and I was grateful for the security. Scott headed home after a bit, and Jen and I hung out in the sun to see Katie. We tried to yell to Jason from St. Louis in the crowd but we just missed him running by. The day was clear, bright and beautiful. We met up with Katie at the BSC in town after her run and congratulated her ! Jen and I headed back to my apartment and she headed back home to VT.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

It's a balmy 32 degrees inside so they give you coats and gloves to wear. The cups are ice, as are the walls and seats! The bars are ice too but have a plastic layer so the cups don't stick! They give you a card when you come in, and you swipe it when you get a round of drinks. Then, you pay when you get out so you aren't fumbling for $ with gloves on.

Ice Art

Scott hung out at the Ice bar, but headed home before the rest of our night out.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Lou's Wine. The best home made wine ever! (ok, the only homemade wine I've ever had) Stephen's father in law - Lou, got the family hooked on making wine. So, Scott, his brother Stephen, and his dad all chip in to make wine with Lou every year. In the fall, we crush the grapes, stir for 2 weeks and get it in the barrels. Then in the spring, we decant it! We line up the clean bottles and demi john's and siphon out the wine. There's lots of QA sampling to make sure it came out right!

Our little helper, Eric

Even Auntie Sue helped! Too bad she and Steve put the barrel on the hand truck with the open hole down so it spilled all over the basement floor! (The stain is still there)

All bottled up.

Time to clean! In order to clean the barrels, you need take a chain that is hooked to a wooden bar. You drop the chain in the barrel, add water and shake it around. Scott's been in charge of barrel cleaning for a few years now. After tasting, I think it is his favorite part.

All the hard work is done - time to enjoy some wine and head up stairs for some lunch!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Every year - my office has a raffle for employees to win seats at Fenway. All you have to do is fill out your name and enter, and hope you win! I won! I really wanted to go to a game opening weekend, but couldn't justify the price. Then, I won tickets to opening weekend! It was pretty chilly but a fun night.